Snowfall
by PersephoneVerne
Summary: Kara is benched from Supergirl and DEO duties after a rough mission. As she waits for her injuries to fully recover, she works on CatCo assignments from home. Kara makes plans for pizza night with Alex, but when Alex has to cancel due to DEO matters, she sends someone else to keep Kara company.
1. Chapter 1: Company

Chapter 1: Company

It wasn't that the buzz of her phone didn't register, the first six times it chimed - how could it not register? she had super-hearing - rather, it took six notifications, each one progressively louder than the last, to tug Kara out of her own mind. She blinked, bleary-eyed, the brightness of her screen spotting her vision as she glanced away from her computer. How long had it been since she had looked up from her research? Kara groaned softly as she heard her phone buzz again, and cast her gaze around her flat, searching for it.

There - on the counter, by the fridge. She stood up slowly from where she had been effectively entangled in a nest of blankets on her couch. Her feet recoiled as they touched down on the floor; it was cold. A muted rushing sound filled Kara's ears, and she turned back to the window that overlooked the city. _When had the rain turned to sleet?_ she wondered as the phone buzzed again, reminding her why she had risen from her position in the first place. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you," she grumbled to herself.

Kara stumbled on the way to the kitchen. Her right foot was numb, with the beginnings of a tingling sensation tickling the side of it. "How is it that Kryptonians are impervious to bullets, but not to your foot falling asleep?" she mused aloud, aware of how tired her own voice sounded. _Maybe it's Alex,_ she thought, rubbing her eyes. _How late is it? Shouldn't she have been here awhile ago with the pizza?_

Picking up her phone, the device informed her that it was… _Rao, only 8:15pm?_ It felt like midnight. Kara opened her messages and found an unread text from Alex. Almost on cue, her stomach grumbled its disapproval at its empty status. _Please have this be a text saying you're outside and you want me ready by the door so you can escape the weather faster,_ she thought as she opened the message.

 **\- Hey sis, I'm really sorry, but I can't come over tonight. Something's come up at work.**

Kara checked when the message had come in. Eleven minutes ago? How deep had she been in her concentration on article research, if she'd missed this? In a heartbeat - two, damn, slower than usual - Kara had changed into her Supergirl uniform. She texted back quickly:

 **Is everything okay? Do you need me to come in?**

It was only a few seconds before Alex replied.

\- **The DEO can handle this one on its own, please don't worry! It's not the end of the world, but it does require my attention. Trust me, I'd rather be having pizza night!**

Kara sighed and leaned her back against the refrigerator as she texted Alex.

 **What's going on? Can't you read me in?**

\- **Not a chance! As your doctor, I cannot allow you to come back into the field until after you've recovered from the mission on Tuesday night.**

Kara rolled her eyes, then winced. One of the refrigerator's handles had brushed against her back, momentarily putting pressure on a bruise that, frustratingly, hadn't healed yet. She shifted her position as she replied.

 **I'm fine, really!**

She had barely pressed send when Alex got back to her.

\- **It's been three days, and you aren't fully healed! You think I don't know how rare that is? You can stop bullets! You can turn back time! And yet here we are.**

Kara sighed. Alex was on a roll now; she waited for her sister to finish. The next messages came quickly, rapid-fire.

\- **That fight pushed you too hard, Kara.**

 **\- You made the right call, calling in sick to CatCo for the rest of the week, and I'm enforcing that trend. I'm pulling the sister card, Kara. No work until you're better!**

There was a pause. Kara shook her head, frustrated - yes, that she was being benched, but more so because she knew that Alex had a point. It wasn't often that a fight left lasting injuries. Tuesday's mission had taken more out of her than she'd wanted to admit.

"Aaaaanndd that's a rabbit hole of thoughts to dive down another time," Kara muttered pointedly to herself.

 **All right** , she texted back to Alex, **but you owe me a pizza night.** She looked around her flat, which - aside from the mountain of blankets and pillows she'd made for herself on the couch - was cleaner than it had been in weeks. Alex had laughed at the phenomenon when she'd come to check on her the day before.

"Who knew, all we needed to get you to clean your apartment was to put you on medical leave," she'd joked, grinning. Kara had rolled her eyes.

"Well what else am I going to do, cooped up in here? I needed a break from article research."

"You needed a break from being productive… so you relaxed by being even more productive?" Alex had raised her eyebrows at the immaculate countertops, and even Kara couldn't contain a snort at the absurdity of her sister's expression.

"Hey, it's not usually that bad in here! I just don't typically have much time for housekeeping, what with all the saving the world and such."

"Mm-hmm," Alex had replied, before insisting she check on the progress of Kara's injuries.

Kara snapped her mind back to the present, where - what with the cleanliness of the flat - she was trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her evening. She'd been planning on her sister's company, and though of course DEO responsibilities took priority, she felt a little twang at the loss of time to spend with her sister. Alex's appointment as new head of the DEO had shifted their working dynamic, and they had both made extra efforts to stay as close as ever throughout the transition, but both admitted feeling some strain. It was one of the reasons Kara had been looking forward to tonight. That, and she'd been working on her CatCo project for about… she did some quick mental math.

 _Ten hours? That long?_ Kara turned to check the time on her phone again, and was suddenly hit by a dizzy spell. She shook her head and poured a glass of water. What had she been thinking about? _Alex. Pizza night. Food_. Her stomach growled again, and Kara tried to recall the last time she'd eaten. It took her a few moments to realize that she hadn't, not since breakfast. _No wonder I'm feeling so out of it_.

Kara's phone buzzed once more as she was staring into her rather desolate refrigerator. Another downside of being stuck at home - kind of hard to go grocery shopping. She had the basics, but not much else. Sighing, she glanced down at her phone. It was Alex again.

\- **I owe you a hangout, for sure,** Alex had said, **but don't write off pizza night tonight just yet!**

 **?** Kara texted back.

 **\- I already ordered it! Should be getting to you any minute now :)**

 **OMG YOU ARE THE BEST,** Kara replied, and just as she hit send, there came a triple-knock on her door. Kara started towards the front of the flat and made it all the way so her hand was on the knob before she realized that she was still clad in her Supergirl uniform. With pizza on her mind, she elected to super-speed her cape safely to the dregs of her closet and don her most comfortable sweatpants and fuzzy sweater over the rest of the attire.

 _It's freezing outside_ , she rationalized once it was done. No more than a few seconds had passed, and she again reached for the doorknob. She made a point of _not_ thinking about how her left arm had protested earlier when she'd changed into the Supergirl suit, a deep bruise in her shoulder making its presence known with shooting pains that radiated all the way to her fingertips as she'd over faster than the human eye could see. _I'll take the rest of the uniform off later, slowly, at human-speed_ , she resolved, effectively shelving the issue.  
"I have a delivery for one Kara Danvers?" said a familiar voice as the door swung open, and Kara looked up from the pizza and into the face of a sideways-grinning, eyebrow-raised, hair-soaked-down-with-icy-rain Lena Luthor.


	2. Chapter 2: Dinner

Chapter 2: Dinner

There was snow in her hair. _No, not snow_ , Kara decided as she took in the sight of Lena standing in her doorway, _ice_. _Where the sleet soaked it through and frozen at the tips_. Lena was wearing a long, black down coat and a scarf that looked as thick as one of the blankets Kara had been nestled under earlier, but neither of those garments appeared as though they had fared much better. Kara assessed all of this in the time it took for her to draw a breath to speak.

"Lena? Oh, my god, you're freezing, please - " Kara ushered the woman in, and both were glad when the door was shut and the storm outside was successfully sealed out. They laughed a little at the rush of warm air that greeted them from a heating vent above the door.

"Kara," Lena started, but Kara didn't let her finish.

"Lena, it's wonderful to see you," she said, "And believe me, it's great to see that pizza too, but I prefer my Luthors in distinctively-not-frozen-solid form."

Lena rolled her eyes, but she was smiling as she set the pizza down on the table as Kara brushed past her quickly, on the way to her closet.

"Hang your coat on the hook there, I'm going to get you some dry clothes," Kara called, doing a brief mental inventory of her closet. _What size does Lena wear?_ she wondered. _Perhaps more importantly, what do I have clean?_ Tugging open the closet door, she surveyed her options.

 _Can't go wrong with pajamas_ , she thought, grabbing a pair of black sweatpants and a thick woven gray sweater, and a set of fuzzy socks to finish off the ensemble. On her way back to the kitchen, she grabbed a spare towel.

"Hey, where do you keep your pizza cutter?" Lena asked as she returned. She was rifling through Kara's silverware drawer and coming up empty. She glanced back at Kara with a furrowed brow, which rapidly smoothed when she saw the pile of clothes that Kara was holding out before her.

"Pajamas and a towel, for your hair," Kara announced, and Lena took the offering with a gracious smile. "My hero," she said, nodding her head slightly, and Kara felt a little blush rise to redden her ears.

"Mind if I run to the bathroom?" Lena asked, holding up the clothes.

"Yeah, of course!" Kara said quickly, stepping aside so Lena could pass by. "Hairdryer's under the sink, if you want to use it."

"Thanks!" Lena called over her shoulder as she ducked into the bathroom. She flicked the light on and closed the door, and Kara turned away, getting two plates down from the cabinet and turning towards the pizza box on the counter.

Kara's heart leapt. _Are those… potstickers?_ A bag sat on top of the pizza box, and opening it revealed that she was correct. It was all she could do to keep from devouring the entire contents of the bag right there, but she exercised what she felt was an admirable degree of control, instead opting to slice the pizza and take out napkins and utensils for the two of them. Then she relocated the entire affair over to where she had been sitting before, on the couch, placing the pizza box and the potsticker to-go container on the coffee table before her.

Kara heard the hairdryer turn on in the bathroom and sighed inwardly. It would be another few minutes, apparently. Part of her knew that Lena wouldn't care if she started without her - come to think of it, Lena would probably encourage it, if she heard how long it had been since Kara had eaten. Still, Kara elected to wait. She waved the mouse around her computer screen, which had faded to her lock image: a photo of her, Alex, Winn, James, and Cat Grant at a Christmas party two years prior. She missed Cat - or "Ms. Grant," as she had so often called her, usually in a tone somewhere between awed and intimidated. She missed her ferocity, her decisiveness, her relentlessness.

 _I bet Cat Grant could have taken down Agent Liberty with nothing but a stare_ , thought to herself. _Turn him right to stone._

Kara closed her computer again, suddenly very opposed to the idea of revisiting the ungodly number of tabs she must have open, and the article draft that was going nowhere. _Wine,_ she thought, suddenly realizing that she had neglected to get her and Lena anything to drink with the pizza. She stood and went to the kitchen. _Or water?_

 _Both. Both is good_ , she decided, and she fetched the glasses and started to pour. As she did so, she heard the bathroom door swing open behind her.

"Oh, Kara, you could have started without me," came Lena's voice from behind her, and Kara smiled softly to herself as she managed to sandwich the water glasses between her elbows and her sides, carrying one wine glass in each hand, and make her way over to the coffee table with the whole assembly. She didn't look up at her guest until everything had been set down.

Lena was crossing the room to join Kara on the couch. As she walked, she was scrunching her long black hair, now mostly dry, with the towel Kara had given her.

"Thank you for the change of clothes," Lena said as she settled on the other side of the same couch as Kara. She finished with the towel, deftly folded it, and draped it neatly over the armrest of the seat, turning back to her host.

"Where did you get this sweater? It feels like I'm wearing a cloud!" she laughed, and Kara found herself laughing with her.

"Right?" Kara agreed as, unable to wait any longer, she piled her plate with pizza and potstickers. Lena followed suit.

"No clue where I got it, but I've had it for ages. It looks great on you," she said honestly, noticing how the wide crew neck fell unevenly, exposing more of Lena's right collarbone than her left as the woman leaned down to the coffee table and lifted her wine glass delicately to take a sip. Again, Kara felt heat rising, this time in the back of her neck, and she quickly refocused on devouring her pizza.

A few moments passed in comfortable silence as they both ate. Then, Lena piped up, "So, purple, huh?"

"What?"

The woman raised one eyebrow in a near-perfect arch. Then she cast her gaze down to her feet, which were clad in the pair of socks that Kara had put in her stack of clothes. The socks weren't a subtle color, like the black sweatpants or the gray sweater; no, these socks were a loud purple, unapologetic as they come. Kara snorted as Lena wiggled her toes.

"Sorry," she said, "I guess they're not very you, are they? They were the first ones I grabbed, I have others if you want." But Lena was already shaking her head.

"Others? These are…" Lena paused, grinning. "Well, you're right, I wouldn't buy them for myself, they aren't "me," as you said… but they are very you, and they're very comfortable. I rather enjoy them," she declared. She stopped wiggling her toes and readjusted her sitting position, so her feet were tucked under her body as she sat upright, reaching for another slice of pizza, which Kara handed to her.

"Glad to hear it," Kara said as she did so. Kara started digging into the potstickers, then paused. "Hey, when Alex told me she couldn't make it, she said she ordered pizza already, not potstickers, so how did this…" she gestured grandly in the air, already feeling her mood improve after putting some food in her stomach, "…advent of good fortune come to be?"

A little smile pulled at the corners of Lena's mouth. "I was out picking up the pizza order anyway, and I remember you saying that pizza and potstickers is your favorite meal, so really, it wasn't a hard call," she said.

"Well, now who's the hero?" Kara said, poking Lena's knee in a playful nudge as she beamed at her, and the other woman's eyes lingered on hers for a second before looking down a little bashfully. Some of Lena's still-damp hair fell into her face, and Kara suddenly had the strong urge to reach forward and tuck it behind her ear. Even as the thought crossed her mind, Lena did it herself, and Kara found herself intensely taking inventory of the remains of their dinner on the coffee table.

"I'll clear this," she said, and stood up, gathering their dishes and glasses. Lena stood beside her.

"Want me to recycle the box?" she asked, picking up what had held their dinner.

 _Did we really just eat the entire thing?_ Kara wondered briefly before realizing yes, that is exactly what they had just done. Lena had reached around her to get the box, and now Kara ducked nimbly under her arm as she headed towards the kitchen to put their dishes in the dishwasher, becoming suddenly very interested in the arrangements of the plates in there.

 _Dishwasher-loading is a great distraction: I should remember this_ , Kara thought. She was not entirely sure what she was so intent on distracting herself from… or maybe she was? Kara closed the dishwasher and refilled their water glasses. She didn't know why she was feeling so… damn, she couldn't even put words to it. Off? No, that had too negative a connotation. But there was something off, something that was dancing just past the edges of her subconscious grasp.

Lena returned from recycling the pizza box, and Kara pushed down her feelings of - well, whatever the hell she had been feeling. _Whatever this is, I'll deal with it later,_ Kara resolved to herself.

"More wine?" she asked over her shoulder, and was startled when Lena's answer was closer to her than expected.

"Sure," the woman said from the other side of the counter. Kara poured the wine and held out Lena's glass, which she grasped from her hands. "Thank you," Lena said, and mimed the tipping of an imaginary hat at Kara as she took a slow sip without breaking eye contact.

"No problem," Kara said lightly, taking a sip of her own and wishing that her Kryptonian body could be affected by alcohol. Alas - she could savor the taste, but it was effectively like drinking grape juice to her, without the enjoyable sugar content.

"Shall we sit?" Lena asked, gesturing back to the couch they had left, and Kara nodded, an idea blossoming in her mind. "I'll be right there, just let me refill my water," she said.

The moment Lena turned around, Kara used her super-speed to open the top left cabinet beside the fridge and reach all the way to the back. Carefully - or at least, as carefully as she could, moving at her speeds - she extracted the bottle that was tucked away back there.

 _Aldebaran rum._ It would have the same affects on her as alcohol typically did on humans. It had been a gift from J'onn for her birthday last year. Kara poured out her wine and filled her glass with the rum instead; the wine glasses were dark-colored, and the apartment was lit with lamps, so there were lots of shadows, and Lena wouldn't notice the change in her glass' contents, Kara rationalized. She put the bottle away. Only a few seconds had passed; no longer using super-speed, Kara ran the faucet and refilled her water glass, as she'd said she was going to do, and went to re-join Lena on the couch.

"Have you gotten a lot done these last few days?" Lena asked as she re-settled into her perfectly-positioned pillow spot. Kara took a sip of the rum and immediately felt a warmth as it went down her throat. If this is what alcohol was like for humans, well, she could see the appeal. Kara nodded as she replied.

"Yeah, actually! I'm working on this article, James and Nia - she's the new cub reporter, you've met her, right? - they both think it's really relevant right now, I'm actually thinking of asking Nia to help with some of the research because it's proving to be a much bigger job than I had anticipated…" Kara trailed off. Lena hadn't said anything, but Kara got the feeling that she wanted to.

"What is it?" Kara asked, and Lena pursed her lips, thinking.

"You don't seem sick," she said finally. "You haven't coughed or sneezed once since I've been here. James said you were out this week on medical leave."

Kara felt her heart rate quicken as she listened. She hadn't come up with an alibi for her medical leave, because she'd been expecting to get back to work the next Monday and slide right back into her routine. If she was being honest, saying she had been sick would definitely have been her first go-to, but when Lena had come over, the need to pretend to be ill hadn't even crossed her mind. Kara tried to listen carefully to what Lena was saying, even as a back part of her brain scrambled frantically to try and come up with a reasonable-sounding explanation for her absence.

"And even though Alex didn't say you had the flu, that's what I assumed," Lena was saying, "Since I know you never get shots for it. Not a good strategy, by the way," she tilted her head at Kara, "Since it only takes one unvaccinated carrier to pass a disease on to an unvaccinated person who's vulnerable… but that's not the point." Lena set her wine glass down quietly on the coffee table, then turned her gaze back to Kara, her eyes questioning, her head tilted a few degrees to the side.

"The point is," she said, and Kara could hear so many things layered in her voice - curiosity, concern, compassion, sincerity - "Why did you take off work? What happened?"


	3. Chapter 3: The Barn

**To all who have taken the time to read this - thank you! I hope you've been enjoying reading as much I as I've been enjoying writing :) I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story so far; if you review, I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Happy reading, - PV**

Chapter 3: The Barn

 _Come on, Kara. Think._

 _You're creative all the time, you write for a magazine!_

 _This wouldn't even be the first time you've lied to Lena about things related to Supergirl. Not even the first time doing it to her face!_ …Why did this time feel different?

Lena was watching her, waiting expectantly. Kara knew that if she let the silence drag on too long, the expectancy in Lena's eyes would fade to disappointment. She'd seen the look before, but directed at others, never at herself. And she had no intention of changing that statistic tonight.

 _The truth?_ No, she couldn't. Kara dismissed the idea the moment it entered her mind. But… it did enter her mind, if only for a heartbeat. Rao, all of this would be so much easier if Lena knew that Kara and Supergirl were one and the same.

 _Not the truth_. Kara looked down at her hands, which were cradled in her lap. Her mouth felt dry. She shrugged her shoulders, not looking up, hoping the nonverbal cue would buy her an extra few seconds to figure something out.

"Hey," said Lena, and to Kara's surprise, it wasn't accusatory, or frustrated. Instead, it was… caring. Kara looked up, and Lena leaned forward a little. She reached out and took one of Kara's hands in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Lena gave Kara a little smile, but Kara could tell that Lena was concerned.

"You doing okay?" Lena asked. "I wasn't going to say anything before, but…" Kara realized that Lena hadn't let go of her hand, and somewhere in the back of her mind, Kara noted that she rather liked the gesture. There was that thing again, that… uncharacterizable emotion, welling up inside her. Not now, Kara thought, forcing herself to focus on the issue that now confronted her.

"I'm worried about you," Lena finished, and Kara let out a little sigh. Why did this have to be so difficult? She wanted to retreat into her mind, her body language shifted to match the inclination. Though she didn't necessarily want to, Kara found herself gently tugging her hand free of Lena's, drawing her blanket-covered knees close to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"It's not - I'm fine, it's just - " Kara stopped, biting her lip a little. Lena looked at her, encouraged by Kara apparently beginning to open up. Inwardly, Kara wanted to scream. She couldn't lie to her face, not like this, not so directly. This wasn't how these conversations usually went between them, at CatCo or in Lena's office. There, Kara could typically explain away one of her absences (or sudden need to dash off without warning) with a flourish of her hand, some quick anecdote about work or Alex or James… but Lena already knew that this was more serious. Kara had been out on "medical leave" for three days already. And besides, there was something about the notion of looking into Lena's eyes tonight and telling her something that was blatantly false, that just felt wrong to Kara. Just the idea crossing her mind felt as though someone was twisting her intestines around.

 _So - the truth, then?_ As close as she could get to it. Kara swallowed the bitter taste of her dishonesty as she cleared her throat and began to speak.

"You know that Alex works with Supergirl, right?" she started, and Lena sat back, leaning against the far armrest of the couch. She rested one elbow on the back of the couch and intertwined her fingers in her hair, supporting her head.

"Yes," she said. "Alex works for that underground branch of government that deals with alien matters. What's the acronym again?

"The DEO," Kara supplied, glad that she, as Supergirl, along with the DEO had collaborated with Lena enough times that Lena at least knew that much, "That's right." She cleared her throat again and then pressed on.

"Well, um… they've been trying to find the leader of this anti-alien hate group who calls himself Agent Liberty," Kara said. Nothing that Lena didn't already know from the papers. She had to be careful not to give away any classified intelligence.

"They've been trying to track him down for months, and I guess last week someone gave them a tip about a possible location. Thing was, while the location was… remote…" Flashes of the building played in Kara's mind's eye, a barn-turned-warehouse in the middle of nowhere, near an old steel factory that had been shut down. "That meant that it wasn't exactly the easiest place to sneak into, there was nothing to use as cover in the surrounding area." That much was true.

"The DEO needed someone to go and take a look around, scope out the location so they could prepare for a raid, so Alex asked if I'd be willing to drive up to the compound and act like I was looking for an interview. I even had a fake article to use as cover. If I ran into anyone, I was supposed to ask if they had any comments on the recent rise in anti-alien activity. It's a relevant question," Kara acknowledged, "And given who the DEO knew was supposedly using the location as some kind of base, if I ended up talking with anyone, the question had the off chance of generating some useful intel." Kara paused; Lena was shaking her head.

"What" Kara asked.

"So you were just doing… what, reconnaissance?" she raised her eyebrow at Kara. "Don't they have drones for that now? Or other DEO agents, for crying out loud?" Lena exclaimed. "How is using the sister of one of the agents allowed in their protocol? It put you in unnecessary danger!"

"I wasn't - no, Alex and Supergirl were watching me the whole time with long-range spyware, and they could have gotten to me in less than a minute, they didn't just leave me alone," Kara said hurriedly, trying to hold on to all of the threads of the story she was weaving. "They'd tried drones, but the group using the compound had put some kind of force field up that was running interference on them any time they tried to fly close. The only way to get actionable visuals on the building close-up was to have someone physically walk up to it."

Agent Liberty actually had set up force fields that interfered with their drones, that part was true. But there had been no need for anyone to walk close to the building; Brainy had just hacked into the mainframe that was keeping the field intact and re-routed some code until he had effectively punched a miniature-drone sized hole in it, through which their tech could fly in and record data on the land.

"And that someone had to be you?" Lena interjected.

"I'm a somewhat-public figure due to my work at CatCo," said Kara, working actively to fill in the gaps of her own story. "There was a greater chance of whoever was inside the building believing the cover story if I showed up rather than just some random agent wearing a wire, claiming to work for a news magazine. It gave the whole thing credibility."

"Hmmm," said Lena, a small noise of disapproval. She still didn't like the scenario that Kara was laying out for her, apparently, but with a tilt of her head she seemed to acknowledge that this, at least, made some sense. Kara seized on this gesture and took it as a chance to plow forward with the tale.

"Basically," Kara said, rushing a little now, eager to be done with this, "I looked all around the place, called out a few times, said who I was and that I was looking to interview someone for my article, and eventually somebody did come to the barn door." She barely stopped for breath, but in the split second when she did, she noticed Lena's fingers clench a little, almost imperceptibly, like reflex.

"I don't remember a whole lot after the door opened," Kara said, "But Alex told me afterwards that as the door opened, the device they had hidden in my glasses picked up a big spike in data - presence of dangerous chemicals inside the barn, traces of radiation, even." _There,_ Kara thought. _Vague, but scary enough to get the point across_. "Apparently this military woman that the president sent to monitor Alex's progress at the DEO saw the signals and ordered that the agents monitoring me, and Supergirl, take the compound right then, and extract me as they did it, instead of telling me to get out before."

 _There - now Alex is off the hook too, and I won't wake up tomorrow with an earful of a voicemail from Alex telling me how much Lena yelled at her for supposedly putting me in harm's way._ Kara had been looking down at her hands as she'd spoken the last few sentences, but she glanced up at Lena, and was taken aback by the ferocity she saw there. Lena was livid.

"She gave the order to take the compound before you were extracted from the situation?" she said, and Kara decided to finish up with this story before she inadvertently gave Lena anything else to be mad about.

"Apparently it happened very fast, Alex and the group of agents moved in. They'd been in stealth aircraft nearby, out of range of the force field, which is why their presence hadn't been detected until that point. They came in, and I remember gunshots, there was an explosion - "

 _A burst of falling wood, as she - Supergirl - had descended right through the roof of the barn to assist in the fight that was already underway between DEO agents and the members of the anti-alien group that had been in the compound that day. Guns being fired, shouts, screams as scaffolding and equipment fell._

"Oh my god, Kara, were you hurt?" Lena exclaimed, and Kara found herself nodding before she could stop herself. The lines were blurring between the story she was telling and the one she was recalling. _No,_ she told herself. _This is important. Keep it separate, keep it together._

"I was knocked out by some falling debris, I think," said Kara. "I can't remember how it happened exactly, I just remember waking up back at DEO headquarters with Alex standing over me, looking all worried, kind of like you are now." She tried out a sheepish grin, but it didn't smooth out the deep furrow in Lena's brow.

Except, she did remember how she'd been hurt. It wasn't just humans they'd found in that barn. More flashes filled her mind: _a green glow amid smoke and chaos. A weakening in her muscles that coincided with a metal-armored fist connecting with her jaw. Another figure emerging from the shadows, then another. Three in total, their faces filled with malice, their eyes… definitely human, but changed, somehow. And that green glow, surrounding her: its source unidentifiable, but the bone-deep ache it inflicted upon her unfortunately, terrifyingly familiar. Kryptonite. A lot of it. It had weakened her, and the three attackers had used this to their full advantage. Even in her condition, if they had been only human, she could have taken them on, but they'd been enhanced somehow. Not with a parasite, like last time with former DEO Agent Jensen - this was something else, and Kara knew that Alex currently had a lot of DEO resources being put towards figuring out the answer to how the humans had been altered._

More flashes: _boots slamming into her ribs, her back, the inability to get enough air in her lungs, her vision a spinning mess of smoke and moving limbs and blood - her own blood? - and fire, something in the barn had caught fire and it was burning, her whole body felt like it was burning… Then, light. Bursts of it, as DEO agents bore down on her attackers, as Alex dragged her out of the barn and under the stars of the night sky and told her that everything was going to be okay…_

"I was pretty shaken up," Kara finished. _Understatement of the century_. She shrugged and again felt the bruise in her shoulder. She ignored it, instead searching Lena's face for… what? What was she hoping to find there? What was she afraid of finding there? Anger? As far as she knows, I've just told her the truth, so she'd have no reason to be angry with me, Kara reminded herself.

Kara was surprised to find a knot in her throat when she tried to swallow, and a little blur to her vision. _Tears? Really? Now? Come on, you've been through worse. You've lost battles before._ Why was this one affecting her so much? Why was she finding it so easy to be vulnerable right now, to a degree that, to her memory, she had only allowed herself to be around Alex, and maybe J'onn, before? She blinked the tears away quickly, hoping that Lena hadn't seen, but one glance up and she knew, no such luck.

"Oh, Kara - " Lena said, her voice soft, the concern etched in the creases of her mouth, the slight hunch to her shoulders. Lena reached out her hand and grasped one of Kara's again, and Kara found herself comforted by the smoothness of her skin, the tenderness of the gesture.

"You went through a trauma," Lena said. "It's completely normal to be affected by something like that. You witnessed violence, your life was threatened, you were injured, for crying out loud," she pointed out. "And I'm sure it didn't help knowing that Alex was in danger too, even if she did have your back." Lena paused, looking away from Kara. "God, if I ever was face-to-face with that military woman who gave the order to attack the compound while you were still on site…" she shook her head, her jaw set, her tone serious, "Trust me, Kara, the might of Supergirl would have nothing on me in that moment," she said.

Kara couldn't help but smile. Lena was so… genuine. Right now, her words were harsh and her tone told Kara that she meant it, every syllable. The lamplight in the room framed her face so that her features were awash in a dichotomy of golden-glow and shadows, and a few strands of her now-fully-dry black hair fell across her eyes as she stared at Kara.

"Are you laughing at me?" Lena's eyes narrowed, but there was something playful in her voice, and Kara felt a bit of weight lift from the atmosphere of the room. The mood was shifting, finally, into something not quite so heavy.

"Laughing?" Kara raised her left hand in the air in a half-sign of surrender - she'd have lifted both, but the other was still being held by Lena, and she was just fine leaving that one where it was. "Not a chance," she said, and now they were both smiling wider. "I was just thinking, you should be careful not to let Alex see that protective instinct, or she just might try and recruit you to the DEO as well. Real warriors are hard to find these days."

Lena laughed aloud and the sound filled the space, in a good way. The lamplight seemed rosier, the room a little warmer. Almost subconsciously, Lena felt herself shifting positions, so her back rested not on the armrest, where it had been, but on the back of the couch, beside Lena, who also readjusted her body to accommodate the change. Kara rested her head on Lena's shoulder.

"A real warrior, huh?" Lena said after they had settled and a few moments had passed in easy silence. Kara realized that Lena was still holding her right hand, now tracing small circles on the skin with her thumb. Kara nodded emphatically.

"Are you kidding? The villains and evils of this world are lucky that you haven't engineered yourself a super-suit yet. Their fight would be over before it even began," Kara said, then paused, looking up at Lena from where her head still rested on Lena's shoulder. "Don't even think about that, by the way," she said. "I'm serious. The kinds of things that Alex and Supergirl and the DEO face, that's real, and it doesn't need to be your job."

Her backtrack had come out more strongly than she'd meant it to, and, sensing herself to be on the verge of rambling on, bit her tongue and fell quiet. It was just… as soon as she'd said it, the thing about Lena and the super-suit, an image of it had materialized all too easily in her mind's eye. The images started off positive: Lena, fighting alongside her and Alex as they tackled whatever foes came at them next. Being able to partner with Lena on missions, being able to speak candidly about her activities as Supergirl… then the images had soured, quickly. Lena being attacked by Agent Liberty, Lena - inexperienced in combat - being taken down in battle.

 _Lena at the mercy of three once-human figures in a burning barn, the scene all smoke and dirt and bruises already forming on her skin…_

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Lena was saying, and her words snapped Kara out of it. "Of course, I have some basic training in hand-to-hand combat, Mercy Graves saw to that as I was growing up," she said - anyone who didn't know her well wouldn't have caught the slight catch in her voice there, but Kara did know her well, and she did take note of the falter there, as Lena said that name - "But all-out battle isn't really my thing." She made a gesture with the hand that wasn't holding Kara's. "I design the technology, I own the media company," Lena said with a flourish, and a nod to Kara. "That's how I contribute, and I do my damned best with it."

"That," Kara said, giving Lena's hand a squeeze, "And you're a woman in the public eye who every day successfully manages to make a name for herself and refuse to be held back by the notoriety of her family. You've got this iron will, and you're smart as hell, and - " Kara broke off suddenly, heat rising in her ears, along her neck, the flush full and unrelenting. Whatever it was, that feeling, that damned feeling, there was no pushing it down this time. Was that rushing the sound of her heartbeat in her ears, or the rage of the storm outside? Suddenly, Kara genuinely couldn't tell.

"Well, don't stop there," Lena said, and Kara could hear the grin in her voice without even turning her head. Then Lena shifted a few inches, so Kara's head was no longer resting on her shoulder. Instead, now, they could look at each other full-on, Kara's hand still cradled in Lena's, their bodies still leaned against each other, the closeness still there.

"Can this be right?" Lena said, her lips pursed but her mouth crooked upwards at the corner with the hint of a smile. "Can I really be witnessing the great Kara Danvers - star writer of CatCo magazine, the absolute kindest, most thoughtful, most - " the smile at the edge of her mouth widened a little, "Mind-bendingly optimistic, earnest person I've ever met - not to mention, now, apparently kick-ass accomplice in death-defying missions - at a loss for words?"

The strands of hair had fallen across Lena's eyes again, and this time Kara didn't hold her hand back as she reached up and delicately tucked them behind Lena's ear. Something warm seemed to take root in her stomach and grow. There was a storm outside, wild, unruly, freezing, but in here - right here - everything was entirely, dizzyingly still.

"Lena - " Kara heard herself say, the word rising in her throat and tumbling past her lips. What else had she been about to say? Kara didn't know, had no idea how to put words to the strange emotion filling her in that moment, somehow both familiar and entirely unknown all at once. She didn't know, but after a heartbeat - barely enough time for the word to have ended, certainly not enough time for her mouth to fully close following the last syllable - she didn't care, because Lena leaned forward, closing what little distance had been left between them, and kissed her.


	4. Chapter 4: Question and Answer

**I'd love to hear your feedback for / reactions to this one! Hope you like it, - PV**

Chapter 4: Question and Answer

The first kiss was like a question, that they were asking each other, that they were asking themselves. Long enough to linger, short enough to display their mutual vulnerability. _Three seconds, then five_. Enough time for the pace of Kara's heartbeat to skyrocket until it sounded, to her ears, as quick-beating as the sleet on the windowpanes outside. Long enough to catch a faint scent of lavender, perhaps from Lena's conditioner earlier in the day, or some perfume donned hours ago, and now only discernible at such close proximity.

Long enough that, when Lena pulled away - not more than a few centimeters, their foreheads still almost touching - Kara could feel the temperature difference, her lips cool where moments before they had felt the heat of the other woman's lips pressing against them.

"Kara?" said Lena, and Kara couldn't keep a smile from tugging up the corners of her mouth. Lena had said her name as though it was something to be handled with care, the tone lilting up a little on the last syllable so the presence of the question was clear. What was she asking? So much was carried in that one word, in the way Lena's mouth formed around the letters, in the tiny silence that came just after.

 _Is this all right?_

 _Is this what you want?_

All in that one word. Kara. Kara felt Lena's hand, the one that was holding her own, shifting so their fingers were now twining together, a punctuation mark to the question that hung in the air.

 _She's waiting,_ Kara realized. _Waiting for me to answer_. Lena blinked, and Kara could feel the flutter of her eyelashes, so close they were to each other. There was an analog clock on the wall - _had its ticking always been so loud?_ And her bare feet, one of them had come uncovered from the blanket, the toes now feeling the cold of the exposure. All the little things seemed so… consequential, in this moment.

 _The answer?_

 _Yes._

This time it was Kara who leaned forward, who eliminated the distance between them. The hand that she had used to tuck Lena's hair behind her ear now ran gently through the rest of her hair, and Kara found that it hadn't entirely dried yet, that it was still damp at the roots. This kiss was a bit longer, as they breathed each other in, tested the waters. They were both still being gentle - gentle, as if I were breakable, Kara mused. Then Lena's hand broke from her own and caressed her shoulder, and Kara was reminded that yes, she was indeed breakable - had Lena felt her wince, as her fingers danced along the bruise there? Maybe she had, because she moved her hand around to the back of Kara's neck in an embrace that deepened their kiss.

Kara smiled without thinking, and she knew that Lena noticed, because the woman slowly started moving her hand down her back. Her fingertips slid between Kara's shoulder blades, down across her spine, and although it felt good - _damn, it felt good_ \- Kara had to suppress another wince at the pressure against another one of her bruises. Perhaps this wasn't the best route to go?

 _A change in position, then._

To this point, they had been upright, turned towards each other from where Kara's head had once leaned against Lena's shoulder. Now Kara shifted, her movements measured both so Lena could tell what she was doing, and so her own aching body didn't protest too much. Kara reached her hand around Lena, supporting her at the small of her back, while simultaneously leaning forward. Their legs and the blanket were somehow all tangled up together as Kara lay Lena back beneath her, Lena's head and shoulders coming to rest on the pillow and armrest of the couch.

 _I like this position_ , Kara thought. From here, she could see Lena's face better, the way the woman's eyes glinted with reflections of the lamplight, the flush that had risen in her cheeks, the rise and fall of her chest that matched the heightened rate of her breathing, a pace that Kara found mirrored in herself.

"Is that so?" Lena said, and Kara paused. _Did I say that out loud? Which part?_

"Though if you were going to make an argument that mine are the most beautiful eyes in the room right now," Lena continued - just the bit about the eyes, then, Kara realized, relieved - biting her lip in a way that made Kara's heart flutter, "I'm afraid," she ran her fingers back up Kara's spine, and Kara shivered a little when they halted at her neck and held there, gripping with playful pressure, "I'd have to protest. And you should know…" Lena tugged Kara down, and Kara let herself fall into the kiss. Her arms were supporting her weight, hands on either side of Lena's head, fingers curled into the couch cushions.

"…I don't concede arguments easily," finished Lena. Whatever response Kara had been about to make was lost as Lena rose to meet her, Lena maintaining her hold on the back of Kara's neck, while Kara - for her part - pressed forward, feeling the curves of Lena's body against her own.

Their bodies rose and fell together, and Kara felt as though she were caught in a current. Their breathing wasn't in sync, but their movements accommodated each other. Kara felt a bead of perspiration along her brow and was clear-headed enough to know that the heat wasn't from an overactive furnace. As she was registering the temperature, she felt one of Lena's legs kick a little. Glancing down, she saw her trying futilely to be rid of the blanket that had been draped over Kara, and which was now hopelessly entangled with the two of them. Kara laughed a little and sat back.

"Hold on, this is a fixable problem," she said, and Lena grinned. Kara tugged at the blanket and realized it was somehow wrapped around three of their combined total of four legs. "How did this even happen?" she wondered aloud as Lena sat up to help with the issue.

They were both breathing heavily, but as they pulled and tugged and untied the blanket from their limbs, Kara felt her pulse begin to slow - not back to normal, but down from the sustained peak it had been racing at before. Her hands and Lena's moved around each other as they finally worked the blanket out from around and under them. When it was free, they triumphantly pushed it to the floor. Kara hadn't let the way Lena's hands lingered an extra beat on her knees and thighs go unnoticed, and now, with the challenge overcome, she let her eyes flick up to the woman that was sharing this space with her, this moment with her.

Kara took in the sight of Lena, now, unashamed in her stares, unsubtle in the way she allowed her gaze to pause a little at how the sweater she'd leant her was now more uneven than before, it had slipped nearly entirely off of one shoulder.

"That sweater really does look good on you," Kara said, and Lena grinned. Kara caught the glint in Lena's eyes and shook her head. "Oh, man, if the next words out of your mouth are some cheesy line about how it would look better on my floor…"

Lena laughed aloud at that, then bit her lip and raised her eyebrow and _oh boy,_ Kara could hear the breath audibly catch in her throat. Lena sat back, tussling her hair.

"Well, I _am_ a woman of science," Lena said, eyebrow still raised as she surveyed Kara's response. "If you really wanted to find out the best place for this sweater, I suppose the only way to figure it out would be… practical experimentation?"

 _Damn, that was smooth_ , Kara thought as she couldn't keep a small giggle from escaping her throat. Lena grinned and reached forward, taking Kara's hands in hers and guiding them to her hips, then up to the hem of her shirt. They were close again now, and they exchanged a small flurry of kisses, short, fleeting.

"Think you could give me a hand?" Lena whispered, and Kara took the invitation. She eased her hands up Lena's torso, taking the fabric of the sweater with her. Lena raised her arms above her head, and Kara tugged the sweater off gently, careful not to pull her hair, and tossed it to the side - nearly knocking over the wine glasses, Kara noticed, and she knew Lena had seen it as well when laugher bubbled up in the other woman's throat. Lena's arms, now bare, were draped around Kara's shoulders, both sitting upright again as they watched the one wine glass which had actually been pushed a few centimeters by the sweater's trajectory stopped rocking in place.

"More wine?" Kara offered when all was still again, and she felt Lena shake her head.

"No thanks," she said, softly caressing Kara's face, turning it back towards hers. "I'm rather enjoying having a clear head right now," she said softly.

"Me to," said Kara.

Aside from a simple black bra, Lena Luthor's torso was bare, and Kara found herself taking in the sight of her body as if she were taking another sip of Aldebaran rum. The curve of her breasts, the toned muscles in her arms and shoulders, the definition of her collarbone, the rise and fall of her chest as she watched Kara, watching her.

"Wow, Lena, you're - " Kara started, then stopped, wishing cleverness came to her as easily as it seemed to come to the woman before her. "You're beautiful," she finished, knowing that Lena had surely heard those words before, so trying to make up for it by making her earnestness clear in her voice. Kara saw a blush rise in Lena's face.

Kara reached her hand out to Lena's abdomen, but stopped just short of touching the skin. She swallowed.

"C-can I - " _Was that a stutter? Really?_ "Can I touch you?" she asked.

"Kara," Lena said, and there was almost a laugh behind it - almost. It seemed that Lena had been about to say one thing, but she stopped, instead turning Kara's face towards hers again, looking at her carefully.

"Is this all right?" she asked. "Are we going too fast? Are you comfortable with… all this?" She paused, but before Kara could say anything, she continued. "You know it's okay if you're not?" she said. "I'm serious, we don't have to if you don't - "

"Don't you?" Kara interjected.

"Yes, but only if you - "

"I do," Kara said, a little surprised at the confidence in her own voice. Saying it aloud - that she wanted what was happening here, that she wanted this woman whose body was now so close to her own - it made it real, in a new way. And it felt… good. _Right._ "I do want this," she said.

With one hand, Lena tilted Kara's head into a kiss, and with the other, she guided Kara's hand to the skin of her torso. "In that case, Kara Danvers," she said, and Kara let her fingers splay across the woman's body, and she could feel Lena's smile through their kiss, "Yes, you can touch me."

This time when their bodies pressed together, there was a different energy to their movements. Not faster, just… more sure.

"Do you think we could - "

"Yeah," answered Kara, and she let Lena lower her down, so now it was Kara whose torso was supported by the pillow against the couch's armrest, looking up at Lena. The woman leaned down and kissed Kara's jaw, then lower, slowly, kissing along the arch of her neck and down to her collarbone. Kara heard a little moan escape her lips at Lena's actions, and she reached her arms up, fingers grasping at Lena's spine, starting at the shoulder blades and moving the pressure down, down, playing at the edge of the sweatpants Lena wore, then the skin just under the waistline, just lower than the small of her back. A small noise of affirmation from Lena had Kara smiling again, and she felt Lena's hands exploring at the hem of her own sweater, then slipping underneath.

"Hmm, dressed warmly for the cold weather, are we?" Lena said, tugging Kara's sweater up a little more.

"What?" Kara said absentmindedly, eyes closed as Lena kissed her collarbone again, savoring the sensation each new small gesture of intimacy. Lena pulled at little more at Kara's sweater, and she felt it come up, no longer covering her stomach now, then higher, and Lena's hand touching the place it had been - except she wasn't touching Kara's skin -

"Kara?"

There was something different in the tone this time, a different undercurrent to the question, and Kara opened her eyes, realizing that Lena had pulled away from the kiss. She was still bent over her, but her gaze didn't fall on Kara's face now, no, it was focused on the space of Kara's body no longer covered by the sweater, the abdomen and part of her chest.

 _No longer covered by the sweater, but still covered_. Mostly by blue material, but the red and yellow of the insignia was partially visible, now, and _had her heartbeat ever been this loud?_ Definitely not, Kara decided. Was the color rising in her face, or draining from it? Her body felt hot, her fingertips felt cold as she studied Lena's expression, watched for her reaction to the Supergirl uniform that adorned Kara's body.

 _Did I break time by accident? There's no way seconds can be this slow._ Kara saw Lena's eyes widen, saw them blink and confirm what it was they were seeing, saw them flit up to Kara's face to where Kara's mouth had fallen open a little, but where no words were coming out.

 _Come on, say something, you have to say something._ Kara closed her mouth, swallowed, and tried to think of anything, anything at all to fill the silence.

 _Surprise?_

 _Hey, there's something you should know -_

 _I can explain -_

 _Lena, I never wanted to lie to you -_

Lena sat back a little more, one elbow leaning on the back of the couch, the other running through her hair, and Kara could almost hear the gears turning, working in her mind. It seemed an eternity before she spoke.  
"I think - " Lena paused, then started again. "You offered more wine," she said slowly, "And I think now might be a good time to take you up on that drink."


	5. Chapter 5: The Kitchen Table

Chapter 5: The Kitchen Table

Kara felt the same way she did when she was hovering above the city in the middle of the night. The way the city traffic swelled, and then quieted as the hours passed. How the lights burned brightly, then darkness would spread from building to building, like a massive, patchwork domino effect, as the inhabitants went to sleep. The swell of the ocean steady in her ears as the time wore on and still, she hovered. Waiting.

 _Waiting for something to go wrong_.

And - because it was a city, because it was National City, and the night was dark and tensions between humans and aliens were at an all-time high - something always went wrong.

A change of scenery had transpired: now Kara and Lena sat at the kitchen table, chairs turned to face each other. Lena had slipped the sweater Kara leant her back over her head - _but she didn't put her coat on, that's a good sign, right? Didn't run for the door. And she hasn't said she hates me_.

 _At least not yet_.

Kara had poured Lena another glass of wine, as requested, and placed it on the kitchen table. Lena nodded in thanks, but said nothing. _Is it possible for someone's stomach to actually twist itself in knots? Is that a thing that people can do? Because right now it seems like I'm making a case for that to be a possibility._

Lena took a sip of wine, then another, and Kara wanted to scream.

 _Do you hate me? Do you feel betrayed?_

 _Do you have questions? I'm sure you have questions. Rao, what are they?_

 _What is going through your head?_ Damn, she had never wished more to have J'onn's mind-reading ability. But… that would be wrong, to use it on Lena, she would have to wait for Lena to share her thoughts in her own time.

Kara wanted to groan, yell, punch a hole in the wall, laugh, sigh in relief. _Relief? Is it possible for me to be feeling that right now? How long has it been? Only seconds, still?_ It felt like hours, like an infinity tucked into a heartbeat.

 _Maybe a drink's not such a bad idea._

Kara went back to the kitchen, reached for the wine, then stopped. _No need to hide it anymore_ , she thought, a little thrill running through her despite still being in limbo as to what Lena's reaction was going to be. She set the wine down and reached in the back of the cabinet for the Aldebaran rum again. She could feel Lena's eyes on her as she took it out and poured her glass. Kara found herself avoiding eye contact as she took first one sip, then another, still standing at the counter, back turned towards Lena.

Kara tried not to focus on the little chill that swept through her that had nothing to do with the temperature outside, and everything to do with the sudden distance between her and the woman currently sitting silently at her kitchen table. Distance, so suddenly and so soon after they had just been… so close.

It took another sip of Aldebaran rum for Kara to realize that her fleeting sense of relief was not, in fact, fleeting. Instead, the feeling spread, lingered, calmed her in a strange way that she wasn't quite sure she'd felt before. It was a different kind of intoxication, this feeling, and Kara recognized it even as the prolonged lack of conversation made one corner of her mind grow more and more anxious.

 _She knows. Lena knows. I don't have to pretend anymore, I don't have to hide anymore, not with her. Even if she doesn't want to be friends - never mind becoming anything more_ , something in her heart twinged but Kara tried to ignore it - _after tonight, right now Lena's seeing me for all that I am_. There was power in that, there was freedom in that, and Kara embraced it.

 _I'll turn around, I'll ask her, I'll just ask her what she's thinking -_ but just as Kara was steeling herself to do it, a sound broke the silence, and it was so unexpected that it took Kara a full three seconds, then spinning to look at Lena to actually confirm her suspicions, before she identified it.

Lena Luthor was… laughing?

"I should have known," said Lena, her voice loud, like Kara had told a hilarious joke at a crowded restaurant, the volume jarring, but the tone… earnest? Kara noted that most of the wine in Lena's glass was gone. Lena's laughter quieted, but the smile remained, and to Kara's best guess it appeared genuine. "I should have known, how did I not see it, all this time?" Lena continued, and - half bewildered, half cautiously optimistic, Kara sank down into the chair beside her.

"All those times you had to leave suddenly, during a conversation, or called away without warning, dashing out of work… just "happening" to become friends with Supergirl so she'd give you, and only you, exclusive interviews for Catco…" Lena rattled off her points like she was checking things off a mental list, and Kara realized that she was nodding along, confirming each one.

"You're not mad?" Kara blurted out when Lena stopped to draw a breath, and Lena paused. There was still the hint of a smile on her lips, but there was something more serious in her eyes. There was a beat before Lena answered.

"I was," she said simply, and to Kara it felt like a gut punch. Kara swallowed.

"Was?"

Lena shrugged a little, but Kara knew her well enough to see that it was just an imitation of nonchalance. "I'm a Luthor," said Lena. "We're the jealous type. Short fuses run in the family." The tone was light, but Kara knew that her meaning was anything but. Lena hated acknowledging any similarities between herself and the rest of her family.

"But…" Kara struggled to reconcile the idea of Lena Luthor angry with the collected, even-gazed woman who sat before her. "I've seen you angry," Kara said. _As Kara and as Supergirl. Now you know I have the memories of both, that we are one and the same_. "…And this isn't what it looks like." Lena didn't respond aside from raising one eyebrow, and Kara sighed and tried again. "Why were you jealous? And why… aren't you anymore?" she asked.

"James knows, doesn't he?" Lena said, and Kara confirmed it with a nod. Lena thought for a moment. "Winn did, too?" she ventured, and again, Kara nodded.

"And Alex, of course," said Lena. She rolled her eyes a second. "Wow, your sister is literally in charge of the DEO and works with Supergirl on a daily basis. I really should have put it together based on that alone." She actually looked mildly frustrated with herself.

"If it makes you feel any better, I did put a decent amount of effort into concealing it from you. From everyone else," Kara finished hurriedly, and Lena nodded in acknowledgement, but seemed a bit sad regardless.

"With you, James, and Winn, it always seemed like there was something you knew that others didn't; when I came into the picture, I chalked it up to your friendship with them having started long before I came along. With Alex, well, she's your sister, she's probably known forever. I just…" Lena sighed, and her eyes, which had been fixed on something off to the side, now looked up, right at Kara. "I'm not jealous anymore, because - " she stopped, started again. "You've taught me a lot about empathy, and I'm trying very hard to channel that right now."

Kara felt a blush rising in her, even as she waited for Lena to finish what she had to say. "Why didn't you tell me?" Lena said after a few seconds. "You're my best friend, and now we're…"

 _Something more?_ Kara thought, but Lena didn't fill in the blank, instead letting it hang in the air.

Kara searched for words, but nothing seemed right. Before she could come up with something, though, Lena kept talking.

"Don't give me the whole 'you wanted to protect me' thing," she said, shaking her head. "You know I can take care of myself, and besides, you told Winn, for crying out loud. You could have made it work. _We_ could have made it work."

 _We_. Kara's heart ached, hearing that, but Lena wasn't done.

"I mean, I understand why you need to keep it secret in the first place. You can't just have everybody knowing, it would paint a target on your back. And if you lived as Supergirl all the time… you'd have no peace. God, that must be exhausting, looking out for everyone else, all the time." Lena stopped for a second, the empathy written clearly on her face, and to Kara it seemed like she was deliberating on how to finish this thought. "You needed a life of your own, I can understand that," she finally said, her voice a little quieter now. "That's why you live as Kara Danvers."

"I _am_ Kara Danvers," Kara said, slowly, taking care that she didn't come off defensive or abrasive. Just be honest. "And I'm Supergirl. I'm both, one isn't more true or more "me" than the other."

"Yes - all right, okay," said Lena, taking this in, "But… do you not trust me? Is it because I'm a Luthor?" Her voice cracked, and Kara's heart broke. Lena looked so small, in that moment. _So different than how she presented herself to the world, one high-heeled foot in front of the other, blazer, sharp eyes and sharper wit, a plan for every possible outcome, ten steps ahead of everyone else in the room, ready for anything. Stronger than most_. Here, she sat across from Kara in Kara's sweatpants and sweater, hair tussled from their bouts on the couch earlier in the evening, shoulders hunched a little, eyes cast away from Kara's.

 _She's looking inside herself for something that went wrong_ , Kara realized. _She thinks me not telling her is her fault, somehow_. It was Lena's instinct, after being raised as a Luthor, seeing what her brother became, then her mother. _She knows that she's not responsible for their actions, but part of herself still feels like she is owed some of the blame for things that go wrong that are outside her control._

Well.

 _I can't be Lena's therapist_ , Kara reasoned, _or heal a lifetime's worth of that kind of ingrained thinking overnight._ That healing was Lena's responsibility, and she knew it would happen in time. But she could fix this, set this one point of anxiety at ease, right now.

"What? God, no," Kara said, and Lena looked at her. Kara didn't give her a chance to jump in, instead continuing on quickly, confidently, earnestly. "Lena, I didn't tell you that I was Supergirl because…" she swallowed. "Because I was being selfish. When we met, I didn't know we'd grow so close, and then we did, and I was so happy about it." She saw a tiny smile playing at the corners of Lena's mouth, and she kept talking. "I was happy because I'd found someone who seemed to understand me, who I enjoyed spending time with and felt comfortable around… and then I started working with you as Supergirl, and that added a whole new dynamic to everything…"

The words were coming faster now, spilling out of her mouth, and Kara didn't think she'd be able to stop them if she tried. "And you were amazing in that capacity too, even if we didn't always see eye to eye on how to tackle problems, and as time went on and we handled more crazy disasters, always something new, I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid that it was already too late, that if I ever sat down to explain it all to you, you'd hate me for not telling you sooner, when it was actually a big step for me to tell anybody at all, and with you everything was just so… good, both when I was Kara and Supergirl, you liked both sides of me and I was selfish," said Kara, realizing her voice was loud, that she was almost yelling, that there was more emotion behind it than she had been meaning to let through - _I wanted to keep it together, damn it, why is this so hard for me to say?_

 _Because you don't ever let yourself be selfish?_

 _Because you always put the people in your life before yourself?_

 _Because even back on Krypton, when Mom put me in the pod, she told me to look after Clark, and I did as she said, even as I wondered - hurtling through space, I was a kid, with the rubble and ruin of my dying planet behind me - who was going to look after me?_ The Danvers family had, they'd taken her in, made her one of their own, and she was forever grateful, and loved them with all her heart, but her Kryptonian identity had always been a balancing act that they'd navigated together. When she'd met Lena, yes, there had been some balancing, what with the 'secret identity' bit, but when they were together? She was on solid ground, she knew where she stood.

"I was selfish because I didn't want to lose you," Kara half-spoke, half-yelled, which didn't even make any sense because Lena was right there, right in front of her. Kara could feel the heat in her face, the emotion in her throat. No tears. _Not this time. Not going to happen._ When Kara next spoke, she heard her own voice drop several notches in volume, back down to conversational, then a little quieter. "What we had was always so good, and I didn't…" she faltered.

"Have," Lena interjected.

"I - what?" Kara said.

"What we have," Lena said, reaching across the table to take Kara's hand. Their fingers interlocked, and Lena smiled down at them briefly before looking back up at Kara. "Not what we had. Present tense, not past."

 _What we have._ It took Kara a second to process what Lena was saying, as she gazed back into Lena's eyes, heard the words.

"Have? So that means - "

"Kara, you're not losing me tonight," Lena said, giving her hand a little squeeze. Lena paused; to Kara, it looked as though she were considering her next words very carefully, taking each one and turning it over several times in her mind before letting the syllables touch the air.

"First, thank you for trusting me with this," Lena said. "Even if the circumstances through which this conversation came about were…" she raised an eyebrow, glancing back towards the couch.

"Oh, trust me," Kara let herself laugh a bit, and it came out nervous, but - hopeful? "That is not how most people find out. Anyone. That's not - I mean, you're the first to see… to find out like… like that…" her tongue tripped over the words, and Kara knew the blush had reached her ears now, too. _Yes, Lena Luthor, you're the first to find out that I'm Supergirl by seeing the uniform as you're trying to undress me._

Lena looked distinctly amused, and she cleared her throat to continue. Grateful for the interruption, Kara fell silent.

"Second, you know how hard it is for me to open up to people, and what you said about me liking both sides of you… you saw both sides of me too, the side I show people at L Corp, at CatCo, and the side that knows that no matter how hard I push it down, I'm a Luthor and that's an inescapable part of me. Most people run. You didn't," she said.

"And third, you're right," Lena said, holding her hand a little tighter, eye contact unwavering, and Kara felt her heart do a gymnastics move. "What we had - what we have - is good. Really good, Kara, and tonight has been…" _Is that a blush in her face too?_ Kara's heart did another few flips. _Tonight has been what? Come on, Lena tonight has been…_

"I'm really, really glad I came over tonight," Lena said, and she took a deep breath. "I like being around you, and I like being with you, and I really liked kissing you, Kara," she finished, a little rushed at the end.

When had the sleet outside turned to snow? There was still a rushing sound outside the apartment, but Kara could tell it was from the wind, and in the absence of the thunder of sleet on the windows, the pauses in their conversations felt so… cavernous. Whole worlds could fit inside those pauses, worlds of hope, worlds of uncertainty, worlds of want - and they did.

"I liked kissing you, too," said Kara, and the grin that alighted on Lena's face was so quick to come, such an immediate reaction, that she felt a mirror expression dance upon her own, and Kara laughed. "God, what are we, fifteen at a school dance?" she said, and Lena laughed, too.

"My high school dance would have been a lot more fun if I could've brought you," Lena said, light gleaming in her eyes. Then she sucked in a little breath and rose quickly, pushing her chair out from the kitchen table, features glowing with what Kara recognized as the sign of a new idea.

"What is it?" Kara asked, and Lena grinned before turning and rummaging through the pockets of her coat, which hung by one of the hooks on the door. She pulled out her phone and fiddled with it for a few seconds.

"Lena, what are you - " Kara started, then stopped as a song began to play.

 _Don't go changing_  
 _to try and please me_  
 _you've never let me down before…_

"Wow, Billy Joel, nailing it with the lyrical relevance," Kara quipped as Lena set the phone down on the kitchen counter, turning the volume up as high as it would go. "Little before our time, though, isn't it?"

"Didn't you tell me one time that your dad - the one on Earth - would listen to Billy Joel all the time during the holidays?" Lena said, spinning and crossing the room to Kara.

"I - well, yeah, he did, but I must've told you ages ago," Kara said as Lena stopped in front of her.

"Well, when you talk, I listen," said Lena, biting her lip, and Kara's heart fluttered all over again.

"Kara Danvers," Lena said, smiling, then pausing a second, Billy Joel continuing to sing in the background, "Or would you prefer Sup-"

"Just Kara," said Kara quickly, and Lena smiled again.

"All right then. Kara," she said with a flourish and a curtsey - _how can she made a curtsey look elegant while she's literally in pajamas_ \- that made Kara giggle, "May I have this dance?"

Kara looked up, taking in the sight of the woman who stood before her. Lena's little bow, now, offering her hand to Kara. The shape of her lips, the question in her stance, the anticipation. It was the start of… something. Something new.

 _Something good_.

Kara placed her hand in Lena's, and Lena pulled her up, grinning - _that sideways smile_ \- and there, across the kitchen's tile floor, with the soft, all-encompassing rush of a snowstorm just outside the windows, they began to dance.


	6. Chapter 6: Indiana Jones

**Hi all, I know it's been a while, finals season hit me like a truck, but I'm through it now and to celebrate, I put my time into writing this. I hope you enjoy it - as always, I'd love to hear from you and see what you think of the story! Best, - PV**

Chapter 6: Indiana Jones

"How did you get so good at this?" Kara asked as Lena spun her around, drew her close, then fell back into step. Kara stumbled on the return and Lena caught her easily, grinning when Kara accidentally stepped on her toes.

"Sorry - " Kara started, but didn't finish, because Lena leaned in and kissed her quickly, their lips touching for barely an instant before she pulled away and continued twirling Kara around the kitchen. The tiles were cold against her feet.

"I grew up a Luthor - that's a life of learning how to fit in to high society," Lena said. She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. "I have to say, I didn't think that upbringing would benefit me quite like this."

"Like what?" Kara said as Lena raised her arm, and Kara spun beneath it. "You mean you never imagined that your upbringing would prepare you to be swept off your purple-sock-clad feet after an evening of pizza with your best friend took some… unexpected turns, and you found out - under unprecedented circumstances - that said person was also Supergirl?"

"Excuse me, it seems to me like you're the one being swept off your feet," Lena quipped back, her grin breaking into a smile as she continued to gently guide their dancing around the room.

Their motions had brought them by the windows, where they slowed some to take in the sight of the snow falling on National City. The snowflakes were heavy and thick now, and several inches had already accumulated, making all the streetlamps lining the roads below look like they were bundled in little hats to stave off the cold.

 _I just want someone I can talk to,_  
 _I want you just the way you are…_

One of Lena's hands was intertwined with Kara's, and the other held Kara's waist. As the lyrics faded into a saxophone solo, they danced closer, their steps smaller, until they were just swaying, now. Kara wrapped her arms around Lena so her elbows were up leaning on the woman's shoulders, wrists crossed over each other behind Lena's neck, and Lena placed both hands on Kara's hips, the distance between them shrinking. Still the music filled the apartment, and still they swayed.

"Well I admit that I didn't picture the socks," Lena said after a moment, "But…" She wasn't quite looking at Kara; instead, Kara followed Lena's line of sight to the snow falling, and they watched it together as Kara waited for Lena to continue.

"But I did… I may have imagined…" her eyes flicked to Kara's just for a second, and she saw a blush in the woman's face. Kara felt her heart flutter.

"You imagined… us?" Kara asked. Lena's eyes flitted over to the couch before she reestablished eye contact with Kara. An involuntary snort of laughter escaped Kara's throat before she could stop it while a simultaneous flush burned her ears, and Lena's blush deepened, and her mouth opened as if to say a quick retort, but no sound came out.

 _She imagined us._

Kara could feel the cold of the snowstorm in her left shoulder, which was inches away from the window, but the rest of her felt warm - so warm - with Lena so close, here with her. Kara leaned in and caught Lena's lips in a kiss as the Billy Joel song drew to a close. She was struck, as the music faded away, how easy this felt, her arms around Lena, the two of them together like this. Easy as flying. Easy as drawing a breath.

 _Rao, she is intoxicating._

Kara found herself smiling through the kiss, and she knew Lena noticed because she was grinning too.  
"You must have so many questions," Kara said. "About me, about my past - knowing you, you're dying to hear about Krypton and the technology there - "

"Well you're not wrong, I do have about as many questions as there are snowflakes falling outside right now," Lena interjected. "But…" she turned her head, casting an appraising look at the apartment before finishing her thought, "We have time." She glanced back to Kara. "And I know this is going to sound out of character, but for once, if you can believe it," Lena raised an eyebrow, "Scientific inquiry is not, in fact, the primary focus of my mind right now."

"Is that so?" Kara said. _Do hearts really skip beats?_ She'd thought that was just a turn of phrase, but now she wasn't so sure.

"Mmm-hmm," Lena nodded, stepping back slightly, taking her hands from Kara's hips and ducking under Kara's arms so she could instead twine the fingers of one her hands with one of Kara's. Lena's skin was soft. Kara knew that her own wasn't; a life of fighting crime does not a callous-free hand make.

"And besides," Lena continued, "Although learning that you are Supergirl is quite the revelation, I came here to spend time with you, Kara."

"Spend time?" Now it was Kara's turn to raise her eyebrows. She traced her free hand over Lena's arm, which was again covered by the borrowed sweater. The response to the gesture was a quick, barely audible intake of breath by Lena. Barely audible to humans, that is. With her super-hearing, Kara heard it just fine.

 _She wants this._

 _She wants… me?_

 _Come on. Don't lose your nerve now._

Kara was surprised at her own confidence when she moved next. Holding Lena's hand, she led her through the apartment, past the kitchen table, past the couch and coffee table. Forward.

Lena spoke as they stopped at the foot of Kara's neatly made bed.

"I do have one question actually, and the only reason I'm bringing it up now it because I think it might be…" she paused, and Kara turned to look at her. "Logistically relevant?" she finished. It was a little darker in this section of the apartment; there wasn't a wall between where they had been before and where they were now, just a decorative divider, but it had the effect of softening the light, deepening the shadows. A string of fairy lights were lit on the wall behind the bed, but aside from that, all the light came from the lamps in the rest of the apartment. _It's actually kind of romantic_ , Kara thought to herself.

"Logistically relevant?" Kara tilted her head, and this time it was Lena who reached out to tuck a few stray strands of hair behind Kara's ear. The touch was light, soft.

 _Rao, she could ask me literally anything right now, I'd tell her anything she wants_.

"Why are you wearing your Supergirl uniform right now?" Lena asked. "It's great for battle, I'm sure, but you were just staying home."

 _Ah. That would be logistically relevant._

Kara almost laughed to herself, then stopped as she remembered why, in fact, she did happen to be wearing the uniform.

"When Alex texted earlier to say she couldn't make it to hang out tonight, she said it was because something came up at work," Kara said after hesitating for a minute. _The truth, finally._ "I was worried, so I changed into the suit right away, but then she said she didn't need me to come in, and then you knocked on the door and I didn't have time to change back."

There was a beat before Lena answered. "Didn't have time? You're Supergirl, you can literally fly fast enough to slow the rotation of the earth! Don't get me started on analyzing the physics of that, by the way."

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Kara, too quickly.

"Where's the cape?" asked Lena. Kara nodded in the direction of the closet, and Lena glanced back at it, then made eye contact again.

"So you're saying you heard me knock and had time to hide the cape in the closet and put on pajamas over the suit, but not time to just change out of the suit? Kara," she said, the skepticism palpable. "What aren't you…"

Lena's brow furrowed suddenly. She frowned, and Kara's heart sunk. _Here we go_.

"Wait, that story you told me earlier, the reason you gave for being home on medical leave. The operation that Alex involved you in, that was all - "

"A cover story," Kara said, hating how weary her own voice sounded. She sank down, sitting on the edge of the bed, and Lena sat beside her. Kara waited for her to put the pieces together.

"So you weren't there as Kara Danvers, CatCo reporter-slash-reconnaissance-operative for the DEO… but you were there. As Supergirl." It was a statement, not a question, and Kara said nothing. She found herself suddenly concentrating very hard on tracing one of the patterns on her quilt with her finger.

"You got hurt. And not by any - what was it that you said? Falling debris?"

 _The noise, the smoke, the confusion of the fight. Then the nauseating feeling of all the strength being leeched from her limbs._ She'd fallen to her knees. _How do you describe the effects of Kryptonite to a human?_ It was a question Kara had been asked more than once, by Alex, by other members of the DEO as they tried to treat her after various encounters with it. And Kara was never able to give a straight answer.

 _Like acid was replacing her blood, but slowly, so she had enough time to know what was happening and recognize that the problem was inside her, that the problem was her, that she couldn't get it out._

 _That there was no escape as the burning sensation started, as she tried to make a fist, raise her arm to protect herself from the blows that were coming from all sides. No escape as her bulletproof skin became a prison, as she tried to scream but had the oxygen kicked out of her lungs._

"Kara?"

Kara opened her eyes. She hadn't realized she'd closed them. Both her hands were curled into fists, gripping the quilt on either side of her with white knuckles. Lena put a hand on her arm, reassuringly, and Kara made the conscious effort to relax her hands and take a deep breath.

"Yeah, I got hurt. And no, it wasn't falling debris." Her words came fast, like she was trying to spit them out before they left a sour taste in her mouth. "It was three attackers, all enhanced somehow, superhuman. Armed with Kryptonite. They were there with other members of the cell that was working with Agent Liberty. Alex is still trying to figure out what was done to them, to give them that kind of strength." Kara sighed and hated how it sounded shaky, even to her own ears. She kept talking before Lena could comment.

"When you knocked - well, first, I didn't know it was you. Second, I had been able to change into the suit because I thought Alex might need me in the field, but that doesn't mean…" _Rao, why is this so difficult?_ "I put it on at superspeed, but it hurt. I figured I'd get the pizza, then come back in and take it off later, slowly at human-pace so I don't put any unnecessary strain on anything. I certainly didn't expect - "

"To be - oh, how did you put it - swept off your feet?" Lena interjected, and Kara smiled, grateful for the levity. Lena was trying, and she appreciated it. Lena moved her hand from Kara's arm down to her hand and held it tightly. Kara squeezed it back and rested her head on Lena's shoulder.

"So that story didn't scare you away, huh?" Kara said after a moment. She kept her tone light, but in some part of her, the anxiety was real, and she wasn't sure if Lena could tell. _Who am I kidding? She can probably tell._

"Scare me away?" Lena said. She shifted, and Kara lifted her head from the woman's shoulder. They looked at each other hands still clasped together, sitting on the edge of Kara's bed.

"Not a chance," she said. "Kara, I'm here for you, okay? I'm not going anywhere. If anything, I should be checking in with you on this. Are you doing all right? We don't have to - I mean, I don't want to push you too hard if you're still healing, and I want to make sure you're comfortable with all of this - this - " There was still concern in her eyes, but a grin raised the corners of her mouth. "What is all this exactly? What are we doing?"

Kara cast her eyes around the room, mockingly taking inventory of the scene. "Well currently, we're sitting on the edge of my bed, having a heartfelt moment and being emotionally vulnerable with one another." She chanced a glance back at Lena and was glad to see the grin widening into a smile, accompanied by a signature roll of the eyes.

"I'm serious," Lena said, and Kara's heart ached with the earnestness with which those two words were conveyed.

"I know," Kara said quietly. "I am too." She took a deep breath. "Yes, Tuesday night was rough, and yes, I'm still healing, but please believe me when I say - " she leaned forward, kissing Lena on the lips, then twice along the jaw, drawing a small noise of appreciation from Lena.

"I want you to stay," Kara finished, pulling away just enough to look Lena in the eyes.

Kara shifted, moving back so she was no longer perched on the edge of the bed, scooting back towards the center of the quilt, and Lena followed. As Lena settled beside her, Kara leaned forward and kissed her, and Lena tilted her head to meet her. After that kiss came another, and another, and Kara couldn't tell who started them, just that Lena's mouth was on hers and it was different, this time. Their walls were down in a way that they hadn't quite been before. Lena ran one hand through Kara's hair, tracing her fingers down Kara's shoulder with the other.

They were lying down, disrupting the pillows that had been so picturesquely arranged at the head of the bed. Time felt warped somehow. Had they been together for a minute or an hour? Kara had no idea. There was a clock on a far wall behind her that Kara could have checked - but even as the notion crossed her mind, her attention was attracted elsewhere.

In a fluid motion, Lena pulled away gently from where they had been half-laying, half-sitting, leaning against the pillows. Kara's legs were together in front of her, and Lena straddled them, their hips close, their bodies pressing together.

"Is this all right?" she asked, and Kara's tongue got twisted in the response.

"All- um, yes, that's just - wow," she said, thankful that Lena stopped her gibberish answer with a kiss, her arms supporting her weight, palms pressed into the pillows on either side of Kara's head After a second she tugged herself away and Kara heard herself groan quietly.

 _Where are you going? That was great, can't we just -_

"Mind if I take this off?" Lena asked, tugging at her sweater, and Kara's line of thought stopped in its trajectory so abruptly it was like she had interrupted herself. _Oooh, now's your chance, come on Kara, think of something good to say, she's been so quick-witted all evening…_

Kara sat up a little, resting on her elbows. "Mind if I do it for you?" she said.

 _Damn, did that come out as smooth as it sounded in my head?_

Lena bit her lip and raised an eyebrow, and Kara grinned. _I'll take that as a yes, on both counts, then_. She sat up a little more. Lena was still straddling her, and now that they were both upright, Lena effectively in Kara's lap. Kara reached out, down, took the hem of Lena's sweater in her fingers and moved her hands up slowly, the fabric bunching in her hands as she brought it up over her stomach, her ribs, her breasts. Kara leaned in and kissed Lena's neck.

"Arms up," she whispered, and Lena obliged. Kara finished pulling the sweater off and tossed it away over Lena's shoulder. Once again, Kara marveled at the woman before her. Lena smirked a little at Kara's expression, and Kara realized that her mouth had opened slightly. Heat rose in her neck, and Lena scooted back so she no longer was straddling Kara's outstretched legs.

"It's still a little hot in here, I'm feeling kind of overdressed," she said simply, and with that, she slipped out of the sweatpants that Kara had leant her, tugging them down and tossing them to the floor to join her sweater.

 _Lena Luthor is sitting on my bed in her underwear._ Kara took in the sight of her, the way her hair fell over her shoulders, the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, the curves of her body, the look in her eyes. Kara's heart was beating so loud she was genuinely surprised that Lena wasn't commenting on its volume.

Kara closed the distance between them and Lena pressed her mouth on Kara's. Lena pushed Kara's hair away from her face and Kara traced her fingers across Lena's body, the skin warm under her touch. The muscles in her shoulders, the soft skin just below the breasts, which were still covered by Lena's bra, her ribs, then down, caressing her thighs. Lena had her arms around Kara, and it was a few moments before either of them said anything.

"I think," Kara said, and she was startled at the realization that she was a little out of breath. She started again. "I think you had the right idea," she said. "It is pretty hot in here, and you know, I've got two layers on right now."

"That's quite the problem you have there," said Lena, peppering kisses down Kara's collarbone.

"Indeed," Kara said, and Lena paused and looked up at her.

"Want me to help you out with that?" she asked, and Kara grinned.

"Lena Luthor," she said in a mock-serious voice, "Will you help me take my clothes off?"

Lena snorted with laughter and gave Kara a little push, and she let herself fell back onto the pillows. Lena took the hem of the sweater and pulled it up, up, and Kara leaned forward some so her head and arms could escape. Then the pajama pants.

"I've got this one," Kara said.

"Okay."

Lena moved to the side as Kara took the sweatpants off. Another addition to the growing pile of clothes on the floor.

 _And there we have it,_ Kara thought. _She's the one that's nearly naked, and yet_ -

Yet this was the most vulnerable she had ever been. Kara watched Lena watching her: Kara Danvers, clad in her Supergirl suit.

Kara felt her ears start to get hot, despite having just shed a layer of clothing. "Well say something," she said, accompanying the words with a little half-laugh. "What are you thinking right now?"

Lena opened hermouth, then closed it again and swallowed. Her eyes were on the S symbol on Kara's chest. Or maybe she's just looking at my chest? Lena's eyes swept over her.

"I'm thinking," Lena said, finally bringing her eyes back up to Kara's, "That that uniform you wear is rather form-fitting." She raised an eyebrow comically, and now it was Kara's turn to laugh.

"It was a conscious design choice!"

"Mmm, was it?"

Kara rolled her eyes, still smiling. "It's like exercise clothes, I've got to be able to maneuver in it, not to mention it functions as armor to protect my body, so yes, it's form-fitting, but just because it needs to be… efficient."

"Well, it is certainly flattering," Lena said. "But as for protecting your body…" her tone changed, no longer quite so playful. Kara sighed.

"It does what it can," she said. Lena's brow furrowed, and she reached out and gave Kara's hand a squeeze.

"You ready to help me out of it?" Kara said, hoping to maintain some of the lightness to their banter, and Lena nodded.

"Is it all one thing, or are the top and bottom separate?"

"Separate," Kara answered. "The bottom part just comes off like leggings." She had discarded the skirt part earlier with the cape, before opening the door to Lena - hard to pull off wearing a skirt under a set of sweatpants. "I can - we can do that after."

"All right. Um… how do I… is it like the sweater, from the bottom, or - " her hands were dancing at the waistline of the suit, but Kara shook her head.

"It can come off like that, but since you're lending me a hand, it'll be easier from the back." Kara turned. She sat on her bent legs, her knees folded beneath her. "After I got injured the first few times in the field, Winn worked with Alex to redesign the suit so it could be removed by medics without a lot of hassle when I got hurt. Their solution turned out to be the high-tech equivalent of a zipper on the back of a dress. I know it looks seamless, but do you see this little ridge here?"

Kara bent her neck forward, reaching back and pulling her hair away from her neck. She didn't turn, but she felt Lena's hand running over the suit's material at the collar of the uniform's shirt.

"You mean this?" Lena said, touching just where a tag or size label would be on a regular piece of clothing.

"Yes, exactly. If you just put some pressure on it, right there - " she stopped abruptly, wincing as Lena did as she asked. The cringe did not go unnoticed.

"Did that hurt? I'm sorry, I didn't - " Lena started, but Kara shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine," Kara assured her. Her stomach was beginning to somersault again at the thought of Lena seeing the unhealed bruises on her body. _How would she react?_

 _Well, she's taken everything else this evening pretty well_ , she reasoned. _And anyway, I'll cross that bridge when we get to it. In other words, that's a ten-seconds-from-now problem, not a right now problem_.

"Do you see the fissure? It looks like a zipper without the little thing to hold onto."

"Yeah, it's here," Lena said. "But if it's not a zipper, how do I open it?"

"Put one thumb at the top, where you pressed before, and the other at the bottom, near the small of my back," Kara instructed. "Starting at the same time, move your thumbs along the fissure towards each other until they touch. It'll trigger the locking mechanism to retract."

"Locking mechanism?" Lena asked as she followed Kara's directions. Kara did her best not to tense her shoulders as Lena pressed along the fissure, which pushed against the bruises along her spinal vertebra.

"Yeah, I told you it was high-tech. Pretty extra, but Winn insisted that a zipper wouldn't hold up against the kind of strain the suit would have to go through," Kara said, trying to laugh about it, but even to her own ears the effort sounded flat.

"Hey," said Kara as she felt Lena begin to take off the top part of the suit, an action that was immediately accompanied by a sharp intake of breath. "I know how it looks, okay? I'm fine. I'm gonna be fine."

"Kara, 'gonna be fine' and 'fine' are not the same thing," Lena said quietly as she freed Kara's shoulders and torso. Kara finished the action, pulling it off her arms like a jacket that had been put on backwards. She had been putting it out of her mind, but every movement of her shoulder ached, and she could feel the injuries from the kicks to her back and ribs every time she moved. Not debilitating, but present. And if she could feel them, she knew Lena could see them. Kara didn't turn around as she went ahead and took off the bottom half of the suit, the material clinging to her skin like thick, meshwork leggings. _Leggings that double as armor,_ Kara reminded herself as she added them to the out-of-sight clothes pile off the side of the bed. _Whatever shape I'm in, it would be so much worse without the suit._

Now Kara, too, sat on the bed in her underwear. It, in addition to the suit, had also been specially designed to be worn under the uniform. Winn hadn't made this addition to the getup - he had been rather happy to delegate the work there to another DEO agent, a woman who had been responsible for designing the standard DEO tactical uniforms. The result resembled athletic undergarments more than anything else. _Nothing fancy, but then, fireproof and flexible didn't need to be fancy._ Letting her mind recount all of these facts, Kara was actively trying to distract herself again. She still hadn't turned to face Lena. Instead, almost subconsciously, she'd drawn her knees to her chest, arms wrapped around them. There was a moment of silence in the room. Then -

"Oh, Kara," Lena said, and it was a whisper, and it was so tenderly spoken, and Kara's heart just about broke. She was about to turn and face Lena when she felt a hand at the base of her neck. Lena's fingers danced lightly, delicately, down her spine. Kara shivered, and though she had been feeling a little chilly with the exposure of her skin, she knew this reflex had nothing to do with the cold. When she reached the waistline, Lena moved forward and wrapped an arm around Kara's waist, the other hugging around to hold one of Kara's hands, embracing her body. Carefully, carefully. Lena pressed her head into the slope of Kara's neck and shoulder and rested there, holding her.

"I don't want you to pity me, or think of me as weak," Kara said, and she was glad to hear that the words didn't sound as small as she felt when she said them.

"Is that what you think I see, when I look at you like this?" Lena said, tightening her embrace around Kara.

"I don't know," Kara answered honestly. "The only people who ever see me - see my body, I mean - as I'm recovering from a fight are the DEO medical personnel that treat my injuries. The people of National City, the rest of the world, they only ever see me in the suit, during the battle, hopefully looking capable and powerful enough to protect them."

 _Protect them._ And who protected her? Sure, she had her family, friends, the DEO on her side, but Kara Danvers, Kara Zor-El, Supergirl - she could take care of herself. She knew it, and so did everyone else, and it gave her the confidence to do the things that needed to be done. And yet… sitting there, Lena's arms around her, more exposed emotionally and physically than she had ever been with this woman, Kara felt… safe. _I feel safe with her._

"They see the image of me that I work hard to show them, the image that they need to see," Kara finished. "They don't ever see what's left of me after."

For a few seconds, Lena said nothing. _Rao, what is going on in her head?_ But when she did speak, it was unwavering. Sure.

"Kara, do you want to know what I see, looking at you right now?" Lena asked, and she didn't wait for Kara to answer before continuing. "I see the most resilient and honest person I've ever met. You're the strongest person I know, and seeing you now is only making me believe that more." As she spoke, she ran her hands across Kara's body, the muscles in her arms, her abdomen, her shoulder blades, her back. Her lips brushed along the bruise in Kara's shoulder and Kara groaned softly.

"And you said _I_ was beautiful," Lena whispered, and Kara wasn't quite prepared for the swell of emotion that rose within her - it was stronger than she was prepared for, and she didn't know what to do with it, with this energy that coursed through her, this new electricity.

Lena's lips were at her ear and Kara turned to meet her, pushing into the kiss like Lena was the oxygen she needed. Kara kept turning, shifting, and Lena let herself fall back onto the pillows. Kara followed, on top of her, their legs tangled together, hands exploring each other's bodies as if they were trying to memorize them, learn them well enough to make maps of each other. Wherever Lena touched her, it felt like fire - not painful, but warm, like a spark of flame on a cold dark night, and yes, Kara's muscles ached where they had been bruised, but Kara didn't mind this exertion. A different kind of ache filled her now, and no, she didn't mind this at all.

A thought flitted through her mind - ridiculous, whimsical, but present long enough to bring a tiny laugh into the narrow space between them.

"What?" Lena asked, her teeth catching slightly on Kara's lip, and Kara shook her head, still grinning.

"No, it's not - it's silly, I just thought of - nevermind," Kara tried, but Lena cut her off.

"So what if it's silly? All this is supposed to be fun, and if it made you smile," she said, nipping slightly at Kara's ear, "I want to hear it."

Kara rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. _Rao, I can't believe I'm -_

"Have you ever seen Indiana Jones?" she asked. "The first one?"

Lena reached up, tucked some hair away from Kara's face. "The best one, you mean? Raiders of the Lost Ark?"

"Mmm, I knew I liked you, it's definitely the best one," Kara nodded. "Do you remember the scene - on the ship - "

"With Indiana and Marian? After he's all beat up?" Again Kara dipped her head in affirmation.

"You know, when she's trying to treat his wounds and he's being all gruff about it, and then finally she just goes 'well where doesn't it hurt?' and he points to his elbow, his head, his lips, and she kisses him there?"

Lena leaned up, kissed Kara's lips. "Where are you going with this?"

"Well - " Kara hesitated. _Am I really - well, I'm already halfway through it -_ "You see, funny thing, I've actually noticed that my bruises feel a little better after you, um, kiss me there, and - "

"Hmm, is that so?" Lena said. fingernails lightly scratching the skin on Kara's back, and Kara forgot how her vocal cords were supposed to work. "So what are you asking me for, then? One, if I'm recalling correctly, Marian was on top in that scene, so if you really wanted to do it justice…" she trailed off, one arm pushing herself up, the other gripping Kara's shoulder and guiding her back, over, down, until Kara was beneath her. Kara squealed a little in surprise at the sudden move, laughing as Lena settled, one of her legs on either side of Kara's hips, her hands bunched into the pillows on either side of Kara's head, careful not to pull on her hair splayed out around it.

"And two," Lena said, and they were both grinning now, and _how is she so beautiful -_ "Are you saying you want me to kiss you in the places you're hurt, or where you're not?"

"I - " Kara started, but Lena hadn't waited for her to answer, instead pressing forward, her skin hot where it touched Kara's, her lips alighting on Kara's lips, down her neck, along the collarbone, then further, across the top of her chest, the slope of her breasts, the ribs where a blue and purple bruise colored the muscle.

"Everywhere," Kara said, finishing her answer, her skin on fire, breathing like she'd just flown around the world. "Everywhere." And then she stopped talking, and Lena Luthor took her breath away.


End file.
